100 Days of Possibility

For 100 Days, from Earth Overshoot Day 2021 to COP 26 in Glasgow, we’re highlighting the many ways we can #MoveTheDate

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. In 2021, it fell on July 29.

We know it can be overwhelming to think about the various impacts of global ecological overshoot such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and extreme weather events (to name a few). However, thriving lives within the means of our planet are not out of reach.

For 100 Days of Possibility, we’re highlighting ways for each country, city, or business to ready themselves for a world increasingly defined by overshoot. These responses also #MoveTheDate of Earth Overshoot Day. Check out the solution-of-the-day (at right), or explore solutions from 100 Days of Possibility that have already been unveiled (button below).

100 DAYS OF POSSIBILITY

  • AUG 14: High Speed Rail

AUG 13: eBikes

male and female birth control methods

AUG 12: Women’s and girl’s reproductive health

AUG 11: Reforming parking in cities

AUG 10: Electric Heat Pumps

On Earth Overshoot Day, Global Footprint Network Founder and President Mathis Wackernagel and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) CEO Terry A’Hearn announced the launch of 100 Days of Possibility. This breakthrough initiative is designed to unveil an existing, effective, and scalable solution each day leading up to the COP26–largely perceived as a last chance for national governments to put teeth on the Paris Climate Accord designed to tackle climate change.

They were joined by city and business leaders from around the world. Each one described a project they’ve been creating, implementing, or overseeing which demonstrably contributes to build a desirable future for the community impacted by that project, thus helping #MoveTheDate of Earth Overshoot Day.

Explore Solutions to #MoveTheDate

Thriving lives within the means of our planet are not out of reach. Plenty of solutions exist in five major areas
for improving sustainability: planet, cities, energy, food, and population.

Planet

How we help nature thrive

Cities

How we design and manage cities

Energy

How we power ourselves

Food

How we produce, distribute, and consume food

Population

How many of us there are

Can we live in balance with the Earth?

The #MoveTheDate Solutions map is your go-to place to post and browse relevant information about active projects (“solutions”) that contribute to bringing human activity in balance with Earth’s ecological budget. This means moving the date of Earth Overshoot Day to December 31 or later.

Explore the map to find solutions that have been implemented in your country, or create an account and add a solution that you love.

Explore solutions map

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Earth Overshoot Day By the Numbers

3800
million years ago life first evident on Earth
121
increase in world population since 1970
-58
decline in average population size of vertebrate species since 1970
57
of humanity’s Ecological Footprint is carbon

Meet our partners

blue Global Footprint Network logo

Earth Overshoot Day is an initiative of Global Footprint Network, an international research organization that is changing the way the world measures and manages its natural resources. The date of Earth Overshoot Day is calculated with data from Global Footprint Network’s National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts, available for free at data.footprintnetwork.org.